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A handful of GCSE students have won an award for their invention which could see the end to an injury plaguing avocado lovers worldwide.

A group of students from Brighton have created an avocado slicing gadget which they believe will stop a growing number of “avocado hand” injuries.

The popularity of avocados has led to a rise in the number of people being treated in hospital after stabbing themselves preparing the fruit, including actress Meryl Streep.

Leading plastic surgeon Simon Eccles said in 2017 that he treats about four patients a week at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for such wounds, with staff dubbing the injury "avocado hand".

The new invention, Avogo, is the brainchild of Brighton College pupils Pietro Pignatti, Morano Campori, Seth Rickard, Felix Winstanley, Shiven Patel, all 14, and Matias Paz Linares, 13, who came up with the idea after Shiven became a victim of avocado hand one morning while making breakfast.

Encouraged by their design and technology teacher Sarah Awbery, they worked on a prototype cast from pewter and soon realised they had hit on a winning idea when Shiven's parents started using it at home.

The pupils have so far sold a number of the gadgets which they believe save both time, energy and cut the risk injury.

Shiven said: “I thought it might be a winner when my mum said how much she loved it. I think it’s quite common for people to injure themselves while cutting an avocado because I read that hospitals have reported a rise in related injuries in recent years.

“Pietro, Seth, Felix, Matias and I talked about that and it just seemed like the perfect product to try and make.”

The Avogo has already caught the eye of London's Design Museum which awarded it first place in the International and Independent Schools category,competing in the Design Ventura challenge.

Judges at the competition said that the product ticked all the boxes and was very relevant to today’s customers, adding that a product like this did not exist a decade ago and was extremely marketable.

Brighton College pupil Matias Paz Linares shows off the invention

After taking part in the Design Museum competition the team are now setting up a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to manufacture 250 Avogo’s, selling at £10 each. The boys plan to donate all the profits to charity.

Ms Awbery said: “We are incredibly proud of the boys for coming up with this. They really thought hard about the brief and used their own every day experiences as inspiration for creating a new product – which has been a real hit already at the school.

“Every knows peeling and de-stoning an avocado can be a tricky business and we love that the boys decided to tackle such an every-day issue with such design style.”

Meryl Streep cut herself whilst chopping an avocado in 2012, and Jamie Oliver has warned of the perils of preparing avocados incorrectly.

The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic surgeons have called for safety labels to be put on avocados following the rise in “avocado hand” injuries.